


Earth Skills

by Lynniethebeegirl



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Camping, F/F, Fishing, Fluff, Happy Ending, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-05-24 19:34:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6164151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lynniethebeegirl/pseuds/Lynniethebeegirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When unrest makes Polis dangerous for Clarke and Lexa they go on a camping trip for a few days.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Swimming

Horns sound, footsteps thump on the lower floors. Clarke looks up, but this has been common the past few days. Since Lexa’s position as commander was shaken there’s been threats of attacks, assassination. She’s been in the throne room, under heavy guard.

“Clarke Kom Skaikru!” The door rattles, and she leaps up, knife in her hand. She recognizes the voice slightly. A guard? Someone she may have seen in the throne room? It doesn’t matter. Nobody can be trusted.

“Clarke.” Lexa’s voice is soft, and Clarke lowers the blade. “We’re being taken to a safer place.” Clarke closes her eyes for a moment, steeling herself. It could be a trap, they could be keeping Lexa alive to use as leverage. But Lexa wouldn’t let that happen.

“Commander.” Clarke opens the door, packed bag slung across her back. She’s been packed since the first attempts on Lexa’s life, ready to do whatever needed to be done.

“Clarke.” Lexa is dressed plainly, face clean of warpaint, only one guard accompanying her. Clarke smiles a little, despite the circumstances. This is the most relaxed she’s seen Lexa…ever. 

“Where are we going?”

“East. There’s a place we can stay there. It’s been arranged.” Lexa rubs her forehead where her headpiece usually is and smiles. “Your people will be safe, Aden and Titus will keep everything as I have instructed. We’ll be traveling disguised, no one will know we are gone.”

The elevator lowers them down, lover than the ground, into the tunnels. They stumble along, Lexa gently tugging Clarke along with her.

The fresh air and sunlight stun Clarke for a moment when she emerges from the tunnel, it’s only Lexa’s voice that pulls her to the horses. There’s only two, the guard turns back into the tunnel as they ride east.

There’s only a few miles, and Clarke is thoroughly disoriented. The eastern seaboard was wrecked by bombs, Baltimore only survived total destruction because of weapons malfunctions, landing the bombs closer to the ocean.

“We’ll be there soon.” Lexa pulls ahead of Clarke on the narrow path. If Clarke’s memory is right, they’re heading towards one of the craters, nestled between Polis and the coast.

“Lexa…” They reach a drop off and Clarkes stomach flips. A wide trench is carved out of the earth, the far edge hidden by the afternoon haze. Seabirds wheel and dive in the air, and the breeze tastes of salt. A vast lake is in the center, and the remains of houses and larger buildings are sunk into the earth, covered in grass.

“We go on foot from here.” Lexa climbs off her horse, and then reaches up a hand to help Clarke down. “Our burial grounds lie between here and inhabited territory, this is considered sacred, land of the dead. Only the commander and those who have proven themselves worthy of death can set foot here.”

“It’s beautiful.” Lexa sets the horses free to wander and graze, and Clarke walks down the slope to the water’s edge. “Is it safe?”

“It hasn’t killed me yet.” Lexa dumps her pack on the ground and unwraps the scarf and cloak from her face and shoulders, letting the light fall on her. Her clothes are strange to Clarke, her torso is covered by narrow strips of fabric wound around to cover her, and she’s wearing a loose skirt. Clarke can see the muscles moving beneath her skin, the strength in even the smallest movement. Even without all the heavy armor and the guards her power is evident.

She wades into the water, hands trailing on the surface. Clarke cautiously dips a finger in, and then scoops up some water to taste. It’s salty, of course, the Atlantic is nearby.

“Come on in.” Lexa smiles and throws some water up into the sky, the orbs catching the sunlight before falling in an arc around her. “The water is amazing.”

“I don’t know how to swim.” 

“I’ll teach you.” Lexa swims to the shallows and watches as Clarke pulls off her heavy gray robes, unbuttons her jacket, and eventually stands in her underpants and t-shirt, cautiously dipping a toe in the water. It’s cool, a relief from the warm sun, but she hesitates. The ark had no room for swimming, no water for a pool. She knows a little about the activity from earth skills, but other than that, nothing.

“Hey.” Lexa stands and takes Clarkes hand, the soaked skirt clinging to her legs. “The water is shallow far a few feet, then there’s a drop off. Just follow me.”

Clarke walks into the water, the sand shifting under her feet. It’s rippled from the wave movements, and the ridges give Clarke’s feet something to grip. Lexa’s callused hand wrapped around hers is warm, comforting.

Clarke slips off the drop off and Lexa catches her, holding her above water until she gets her bearings and starts to move her arms and legs in movements that look slightly like swimming. 

“I’m going to let you go for a moment, but if you start to go under I’ll catch you.” Lexa moves away, and Clarke struggles against the downward pull, arms flapping wildly. She manages, but after a moment she’s exhausted, and Lexa tugs her into shallower water.

“How long have you been doing this?” Clarke rests, the constant pull of the water exhausting her. The higher gravity of earth had been difficult enough to adjust to, but this seems like unnecessary torture.

“Most grounder children learn to swim by age five. I don’t remember a time before it.” She picks up sand, sifting it between her fingers. “My village was next to a river, we would bathe there every morning. I still try to bathe here when I have the chance, it seems cruel to have others haul it such a distance to the tower.”

Lexa scoops up some sand and rubs it across her skin until its pink. Clarke mimics her, removing weeks of dirt and grime. She untangles her hair the best she can, and swishes her head in water. 

“We have bark for that, actually.” Lexa climbs out of the water and returns with a chunk of leathery bark. “You rub it on your hair like this, and it helps get the dirt out.”

Clarke takes the bark and scrubs with it, foaming bubbles covering her. It reminds her of shampoo. When was the last time she had a good shampoo, actually one where she could think about getting clean? Bubbles smear across her face, and Lexa smiles and wipes them away from her eyes, her hands hovering around Clarkes face.

“It’s okay.” Clarke pulls Lexa closer and kisses her cheek gently. Now isn’t the time for anything heavy, but this, just a kiss, might be okay.

Lexa holds Clarke up as they swim out into deeper water to rinse off, and Clarke swims almost all the way back. It’s an awkward swim, half on her side, only one leg kicking, but she makes it to shore.

It’s getting dark, and they gather their things and hike along the edge of the water to a door set into the side of the crater. It’s the remains of a building, an uncollapsed room that’s been cleaned out, a bed in one corner, a sofa along one wall. A tiny table cluttered with things that Clarke doesn’t recognize. They turn their backs on each other awkwardly as they change into nightclothes, and Clarke curls up on the sofa while Lexa goes out to hang up the clothes.

Clarke pretends to be asleep when Lexa comes back in, and Lexa doesn’t bother her, just lays another blanket over her and makes sure her feet are covered. Clarke sees the longing glances through her eyelashes, see’s Lexa hesitate when she crawls into her own bed. Lexa wants companionship so badly, Clarke can see it in every movement she makes. Being Heda must be lonely, but Clarke isn’t sure if she can give Lexa what she needs. Lexa pulls the covers over her head, and Clarke does the same.


	2. Swimming

The next morning Clarke wakes to Lexa’s unmade bed and the smell of something cooking outside. It’s just after dawn, and she feels clean for once, away from the ashy grime of Polis. The air feels like it had felt the first time she stepped foot on Earth. It feels clean, alive.

Clarke walks barefoot to the edge of the water, where Lexa is tending a small fire. Some sort of meat is roasting on a spit propped up in the sand, and Clarke’s stomach growls.

“Hey.” Lexa hands Clarke a pole with a long string attached. “Ever gone fishing?”

“Fishing for space junk, yeah.” Clarke sits with Lexa on the bank and watches Lexa tie a small wooden hook to the string. “You mean fishing for fish.”

“Yeah.” Lexa tilts her head slightly, and a small smile mixes with the look of concentration on her face. “Here, put this on.” She hands Clarke the hook and a wiggling worm. 

“Whoops.” Clarke immediately drops the thing in the water under her feet, and the water is lit up by a flash of silver as fish nibble at it. “It’s bait.” She remembers from reading about it in books.

“You have to spear it, like this.” Lexa takes Clarkes hands and guides her through baiting the hook. She throws the line out a little ways and hands Clarke to rod. 

They sit in silence, arms bumping together. It’s chilly, the sun not yet reaching quite to the bottom of the crater. Lexa reels in a fish first, and guts it quickly, cutting it into sections and setting it by the fire.

“Looks like you’ve got something.” Lexa points out the small jumps in the line, and Clarke pulls it in towards shore. It zigs and zags and Lexa takes the rod after watching Clarke struggle for a few minutes.

She pulls the fish out of the water and shows Clarke how to gut and skin it with a curved knife. Clarke watches her hands as they wield the knife effortlessly, slicing through muscle and bone. 

“Hungry?” Lexa pulls two of the sticks of fish off the fire and hands Clarke one. “They’re hot, watch out.” 

They eat beside the fire, the morning mist burning off and sunshine illuminating the crater. The water is still, the only disturbances are the small circles where fish have jumped. 

“Are we going back today?” Clarke knows that her people need her, but its peaceful here. Had she felt that peace on the ark? She hasn’t felt it since she landed.

“The unrest is not a quick to go as it was to arise. We may be here for a few more days, if the clans continue this way.” Lexa pulls Clarke up, and takes the sticks, setting them by the fire to dry. 

“Continue in this way? What does that mean?”

“The clans cannot attack Skaikru without orders from the Commander. They desperately want approval, to the point where they will kill the current Commander in hopes that the next one will give them permission. But they will not attack Skaikru unless they wish for the coalition to break.”

“How much do they want to preserve the coalition? Will they willingly break it for vengeance?” Clarke feels sick, if that is all that stands between her people and death she should have never have left Polis.

“Before the coalition…” Lexa swallows, looking at the ground. “Before the coalition there was war. Clans fought on all sides to defend their territories and their people. The Mountain Men fed upon us. No one wishes to return to that.”

“So my people are safe.” Clarke wants to sink to the ground in relief, but Lexa looks as if she wants to cry, or vomit. “I’m sorry I asked. I trust you.”

“You are a good leader Clarke. Your people are lucky to have you.” Lexa smiles sadly, and turns away. “I left some clothes on the table for you, it’s warmer here than in Polis.” She begins extinguishing the fire, and Clarke returns to the room under the grass. There are two small windows carved into the wall next to the door, and Clarke spots the clothes in the dim light.

A skirt, a thin t-shirt. Clothes that Clarke cannot imagine wearing anywhere else. The ark needed people to be able to climb ladders or handle emergencies at any time, and she’s been fighting for her life since landing on the ground. She buries her face in them, they smell of the strange bark, and of Lexa.

They walk along the water’s edge until they reach a path, following it for a while until the step out onto a vast sandy beach. The water in front of them extends far beyond what Clarke can see, and the blue sky that seems to melt into the horizon is dizzying.

“Clarke?” Lexa takes her hand as Clarke sways in the breeze. The waves murmur, and birds shriek in the sky.

“I…I used to think about the ocean while I was on the ark. The photos seemed so alien, it didn’t seem possible for any place to be like this.” Clarke grips Lexa’s hand a little tighter, feeling like she’s in a dream. Lexa leads her to the water and they stand ankle deep, letting the waves lap at their toes. 

“Look.” Lexa leans down and scoops something up from the water. It’s limbs curl around her fingers, trying to drag itself out of her grasp.

“A sea star?” Clarke takes it, fascinated by its curling arms. Since she landed most of the creatures she’s seen have been either food or trying to eat her.   
This little critter tries to scoot itself around on her hand, looking for an escape. “It’s so cute.”

“Here, put it in water.” They crouch, and Clarke dips her hands below the surface. The sea star continues to move around, eventually slipping over her thumb and setting off across the sand.

“A sea star.” Clarke watches it disappear into deeper water. There was always so much in the woods, she’d never imagined the world could be bigger. She thinks of all the landscapes she’d seen from the ark, the mountains, the deserts, the polar ice caps. So many places, so many creatures. 

“Come on, there’s a place we can swim.” Lexa pulls her up and tows her across the sand, behind a rocky outcropping. The path goes between two sheets of stone, rising up to almost block off the sky.

“Lexa where…?”

“Cover your eyes.” Lexa turns to face Clarke. “I’ll make sure you don’t fall.” 

The next hundred feet are in darkness, Lexa holding her hand to guide her. 

“Step down.” Clarke balances against Lexa as she unsteadily walks down a stairway made of roots. “Okay, now you can look.”

Clarke’s hand drops from her face and she gasps. She’s at the edge of a pool of water, sheets of stone rising from each side to protect it from the waves. There’s a narrow strip of sand on the edge, extending a few feet below the water until it drops off into a deep blue pit.

“Come on!” Lexa pulls her into the water, swimming out to the edge of the drop off, where it’s just barely shallow enough to stand. Clarke spins around for a few minutes, taking in the trees and the cliffs and the sand. She catches Lexa smiling at her out of the corner of her eye, and turns to face her.

“What?” She takes Lexa’s hands and they drift into shallower water, sitting in the sand.

“I wish I could have seen you when you first came to earth.” She pushes Clarke’s hair back from her face. There’s a moment of quiet, Lexa’s hands hovering near Clarke’s face, Clarke gazing up at her openly, no more stolen glances. “May I kiss you?” Clarke takes one of her hands and holds it to her cheek.

“Yes.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minor vague angst. Also cuddling.

There’s a thunderstorm that night, rain pounding on the lake, thunder crashing overhead. Clarke lies on the couch in the dark, the room lit up by occasional flashes of lightening. She closes her eyes, the chaos washing over her. It’s a safe kind of chaos, a chaos that’s not directly trying to kill her. It has no mind of its own, it just is. 

There’s a lull in the thunder and rain, and Clarke hears a new sound, soft sobs coming from the corner. She gets up to investigate, and finds Lexa huddled under the blankets. The thunder starts up again, and Clarke silently pulls the covers back and crawls in with Lexa, curling around her protectively. Lexa buries her face in Clarke’s neck and Clarke smooths her hair gently. 

When the thunder fades Clarke drifts off, waking later to grey skies and the continued patter of rain. Lexa is sleeping against her, face mushed into the blankets. Clarke trails her fingertips along the edge of the tattoo on Lexa’s arm, watching her sleep. 

When Lexa wakes up it’s gradual. Clarke hears her breathing shift, sees her eyelids start to flutter. She prepares to scoot away from her if Lexa is uncomfortable, but Lexa moves back against her. She sleepily grasps for Clarke’s hand, and draws Clarke’s arm around her.

Clarke relaxes, gently pulling Lexa more tightly against her, and buries her face in her hair. 

After a while Lexa turns to face Clarke, still huddled close to her. Their faces are almost touching in the dim light, and one of Lexa’s hands is on Clarke’s hip. The other traces her face tenderly, brushing against her eyelids, her cheekbones, her nose. Lexa stops at her lips, and Clarke feels her fingertips trembling as they skim her skin.

Clarke takes her hand and kisses her. The kiss is slow, gentle. Not like the kisses recently, so quick and fleeting. They explore each other’s mouths, Clarke biting gently onto Lexa’s lower lip, Lexa’s tongue moving against Clarke’s. Clarke releases Lexa’s hand and pulls her closer, their legs tangled together. Hands wander, Clarke feels the hard lines of ropy scars under Lexa’s shirt, and the calluses of her hands, grabbing Clarke’s thighs and pulling her against her.

Thunder rumbles and they break away. Lexa buries her face in Clarke’s shoulder, trembling. Clarke rubs her back, and waits for the noise to subside.

“Are you okay?” 

“No.”

“Okay.”

Clarke holds Lexa, sometimes loosely, just close enough to share warmth. Sometimes tightly, feeling her shake against her, but always gently.

The rain lets up late in the day, and they venture outside, still in their bedclothes. A rainbow stretches across the sky, and they walk out to the sea, standing ankle deep in the waves.

Lexa leads Clarke up a hill, and they watch as deep purple smoke rises from the forest.

“There’s going to be a summit in two days. All the ambassadors, and the commander.” Lexa seems resigned. Not upset, not happy.

“So we leave tomorrow?”

“The morning after, I think. The summit will be at sundown.”

The sun begins to set, and they walk back to the crater. There’s cooked fish from the day before and they eat in silence. 

“Are you okay now?” Clarke rinses off her hands in the lake and takes Lexa’s hand. 

“I’m fine, Clarke. Thunder is just…one of those things.”

“Okay.” Clarke pulls Lexa to her feet and kisses her in the dying light. “Ready for bed?”

They curl up together, Clarke’s arm around Lexa. Lexa shivers in the dark and Clarke feels her scoot backwards, pressing their bodies together.

They fall asleep, the other’s breathing comforting in the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is the last chapter. I have some dirty stuff that I wrote that I could tack on but I'll probably make a separate fic if I decide to post it. I hope you enjoyed the story!!!!

The next day they walk a mile north to a freshwater stream to fill the jugs of water that Lexa keeps in the corner of the room. They hold hands, following a narrow path across the dunes.

They can see the sharp outlines of a destroyed city to the north, buildings tipped to the side. Melted glass had streamed down the sides, hardening as it cooled. The sunlight shimmers on them, turning the city into a shining beacon. They walk through the remains of a concrete building, the crumbling walls decorated in ivy and the staircases leading to nothing.

It’s midday when they return, and they head out to the pool of water surrounded by cliffs. Clarke strips to just her underpants and floats on her back while Lexa wades in the shallows, stabbing at fish with her spear. 

As night falls Clarke begins to shiver, and she swims to the shore where Lexa is sitting, and pulls her shirt on. They lie down on the sand, bodies pressed together. The stars stretch into infinity above them, and Clarke closes her eyes, feeling the solid ground below her and Lexa against her.

“Do you miss the stars?” Lexa whispers in her ear, and Clarke bites her lip.

“I miss the person I used to be on the Ark. I don’t miss it though.” Clarke feels Lexa take her hand and get up, pulling her with her. They gather their things and walk to the dunes. The stars stretch out over the sea, a faint glow to the south the only thing interrupting the view.

“The boat people. Their city is nearing Trikru territory for the summit.” Clarke doesn’t question this. She’d like to visit the boat people at some point, see how they could have a city that moves across the water.

The pool of water in the crater is smooth as glass and all the stars are reflected in it. They sit on the edge and watch the stars, watch as tiny meteors flit across the water. A larger one streaks across the stars and Clarke reaches for it, her fingers grazing the surface sending tiny ripples across it.

“When all this is over can we come back here?” Clarke is ashamed of how small her voice sounds, but she’s terrified that this is the last place she will ever feel safe. 

“Of course.” Lexa takes her hand. “There will always be a place for you here.”


End file.
